Brussels, 19 December 2024

The European Forum for Electronic Components and Systems (EFECS) 2024, held on December 5-6, brought together more than 700 participants, 54 of which were exhibitors, and 60 speakers from several types of organisations, including large enterprises, SMEs, research technology organisations (RTOs), and AENEAS, EPoSS and INSIDE Industry Associations as Private Members of the Chips JU. The theme, “Strengthening EU Competitiveness” focused on fostering collaboration and innovation across the Electronic Components and Systems (ECS) industry.

Jari Kinaret, Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking (Chips JU), opened the first day by giving an overview of the JU achievements so far and the future challenges of the programme. This was followed by the keynote speech of Frédérique Le Grevès, President STMicroelectronics France and Executive Vice President, Europe & France Public Affairs, who presented the competitiveness and geopolitics that the EU semiconductor industry is facing today.

During the morning, some presentations, followed by Q&A, focused on the impact of the Chips JU project portfolio, with contributions from experts on Automotive (Michael Paulweber, AVL List GmbH and Andreas Eckel, TTTech), Edge AI (Ovidiu Vermesan, SINTEF DIGITAL and Giulio Urlini, STMicroelectronics), Health (Juan A. Montiel-Nelson, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Dominique Goubier and Olivier Horbowy, STMicroelectronics), Energy (Holger Schmidt, Infineon Technologies AG), Power Electronics (Jochen Koszescha, Infineon Technologies AG), and Green Electronics (Erika Györvary, CSEM). 

The afternoon began with a keynote speech by Gustav Kalbe, Acting Director, in the DG CNECT at the European Commission, discussing the Chips for Europe Initiative with a focus on strengthening EU competitiveness. Gustav Kalbe reflected on Europe’s current position in the semiconductor sector, emphasising the importance of becoming a leader in several fields. He highlighted the need to address existing weaknesses, strategically invest in targeted areas, and leverage the Chips JU pilot lines to provide new opportunities for users across the EU. This was followed by presentations from representatives of three Chips JU Pilot Lines, Dominique Noguet (FAMES Pilot Line), Jo De Boeck (NanoIC Pilot Line) and Albert Heuberger (APECS Pilot Line). Elisabeth Steimetz, Office Director of EPoSS Industry Association, presented the Lab to Fab Accelerators under the Chips for Europe Initiative. An involving panel discussion followed these presentations with the participation of other industry representatives François Brunier (SOITEC), Lars Lust (Swissbit AG) and Joost Sytsma (ASML). 

The last presentations of the day were from Ferdinand Bell, from Important Projects of Common European Interest (IPCEI)​​, and Francis Balestra, from the International Cooperation on Semiconductors (ICOS). The rest of the afternoon focused on well attended workshops emphasising cross-sectoral applications, specifically on Design Platform, Quantum Pilot Lines, Lab to Fab Accelerator on Advanced Packaging, and Edge AI. 

The first day closed off with the networking dinner and social event hosted by AENEAS, EPoSS and INSIDE Industry Associations. Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni, Chair of the Private Members Board welcomed the ECS community, stressing the importance of a joint effort to efficiently address the major challenges the ECS sector has ahead, and underlined the great work done by Jan van den Biesen, who will soon retire after having acted as strategic advisor to the 3 Industry Associations.  

Day two opened with a forward-looking keynote by Maria Cristina Russo, Director, Prosperity, in the DG RTD at the European Commission, addressing the importance of chips R&I in shaping our future prosperity. She emphasised the need to build on the foundation laid by the Chips Act, drive innovation strategically, and increase investment in next-generation chips, skills, and green digital solutions while reducing dependencies. 

The following speaker was Marco Ceccarelli, Programme Officer in DG CNECT at the European Commission. He outlined the importance of additional funding opportunities to support innovative ideas and cutting-edge technologies. He highlighted the ongoing initiatives by the European Commission in the context of the Chips Fund. 

Christophe Duverne, Co-Founder & Partner at Silian Partners and Senior Managing Director at Ardian Semiconductor, discussed how their work supports the European semiconductor industry and the potential of private equity investment. The session underscored semiconductors' role in digitalisation, emerging opportunities in Europe, and the need for a strategic investment approach. 

Victoria Cummings presented the ECSA roadmap for 2025, highlighting the strong foundation built for the Chips Academy over the past year and the plan to strengthen partnerships to bridge the talent gap. 

The next speaker was Silvana Muscella, representing ALLPROS.eu. She outlined the Industrial Alliance's mission to unite stakeholders in addressing gaps and challenges in microchip production while building resilience for European companies of all sizes. She detailed the Alliance's three key focus areas: bridging skills and gender gaps in the semiconductor industry, enhancing supply chain resilience and transparency, and advancing research on PFAS and sustainable alternatives. 

Then Sebastian Jester, representing Agentur für Innovation in der Cybersicherheit GmbH. He highlighted the agency’s mission to drive innovation in cybersecurity and support technological sovereignty for Germany and Europe. His presentation focused on key priorities such as addressing future security needs, fostering advancements in secure systems and critical infrastructure, and promoting formal verification to ensure provable cybersecurity across software and hardware ecosystems.

Held in plenary, an involving panel discussion, moderated by Olivier Horbowy, Public Affairs, STMicroelectronics, was the occasion to examine how to scale up innovations in healthcare technologies with enlightening contributions by representatives from some leading organisations. 

Right before the networking lunch, which marked the end of the event, some presentations attracted the audience’s attention, namely a contribution by Patrick Cogez about the ECS SRIA 2025, Anton Chickov about the Chips JU Calls for 2025 and finally, by Jan van den Biesen who spoke about the AENEAS, EPoSS and INSIDE Industry Associations position on FP10. 

Collaboration across sectors emerged as an over-arching theme, with participants highlighting the importance of fostering partnerships between academia, industry, and government to drive innovation and progress. The event also highlighted the critical role of semiconductors in advancing Europe’s sustainability goals, particularly through energy-efficient solutions and resource optimisation. Lastly, the forum brought attention to the challenges of talent development, emphasizing the need for targeted investments in skills and education to prepare a workforce capable of addressing the industry's future needs.

For a detailed overview of the sessions and speakers, visit the EFECS 2024 programme.